According to the International Centre for Prison Studies, the United States has the highest prison population per capita in the world. In 2009, for example, 1 out of every 135 U.S. residents was incarcerated. Generally, inmates convicted of felony offenses serve long sentences in prison (e.g., federal or state prisons), whereas those convicted of misdemeanors may receive shorter sentences to be served in jail (e.g., county jail). While incarcerated, a prisoner or inmate may interact with a number of different entities including, for example, the facility's administration, commissary, medical service provider, etc. Moreover, the inmate or prisoner may access certain types of information technology (IT) systems including, for example, telephone communications system, video visitation systems, etc.
The inventors hereof have recognized, however, there is currently no electronic or automated mechanism capable of aggregating and/or providing information to inmates about matters related to these various entities and services in a suitable manner.
For instance, if an inmate wishes to find out his or her expected release date from the facility, they may have to wait for an opportunity to physically travel the facility's administration's office and ask a clerk or officer. If the inmate would like to know their visitation schedule, they may have to wait for a chance to query the visitation system (or the administration). And in some cases, there may simply not be a way to obtain certain information. For example, if the inmate needs to be reminded to take certain medication or refill a drug prescription, the facility may not be capable of communicating this information to them.
In light of these, and other concerns, the inventors hereof have developed the virtual communication device interfaces described herein.